Dec. 17, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -
By Leigh Torbin
UCFAthletics.com
PHOTO GALLERY
UCF AT THE BOWL BY THE BAY: THURSDAY AFTERNOON | WEDNESDAY EVENING | WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON | TUESDAY EVENING | TUESDAY AFTERNOON
For the thousands of student-athletes who are fortunate enough to participate in bowl games every year, the events are often about the experience and lifetime memories that are formed at them as much as the game itself. UCF got a healthy dose of that "bowl experience" today at the St. Petersburg Bowl's Beach Bash at TradeWinds Beach Resort.
After a buffet luncheon, the teams got to enjoy a 30-foot tall inflatable water slide, an inflatable boxing ring, a dunk tank and, of course, the beautiful beach and pool. At poolside, several contests went on between the Knights and Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, including a belly-flop contest, a hula-hoop contest, dance-offs and a singing contest where Reggie Weams got to show off his vocal stylings.
After the fun-filled two and a half hour event, the Knights came back to their hotel for the annual team awards dinner. On offense, positional awards, as voted on by the coaching staff, went to Kamar Aiken (WR), Brynn Harvey (RB) and Jah Reid (OL). The Most Improved Player on offense was Ian Bustillo and the Outstanding Offensive Player was Brett Hodges. Defensive positional awards went to Josh Robinson (DB), Cory Hogue (LB) and Bruce Miller (DL). Jarvis Geathers was the defense's Most Improved Player and the Outstanding Defensive Player was Miller. The Most Outstanding Special Teams award with to Ronnie Weaver.
The "UCF Way" Award went to Alex Thompson. The academic award went to Rocky Ross. The Kodak Award for the Scout Team performer of the year went to T.J. Harnden. And, lastly, the team's Most Valuable Player for 2009 was Hodges. The SportsKnight video recap is below.
Friday morning will see the Knights make a visit to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. The bowl's official Kickoff Luncheon follows at noon. The Knights will take to the turf at Tropicana Field for a short walk-around followed by a more formal walk-through at Gibbs High School. Then, for the team, it is an quiet evening full of meetings and game preparation. For fans, it is a raucous time as the official Block Party goes on at Ferg's Sports Bar and Grill. UCF head coach George O'Leary will be at Ferg's from 5-6 p.m. for a special bowl game edition of his radio call-in show with host Marc Daniels.